Analyzing Winchester Bancorp (NASDAQ:WSBK) & Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE)

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) and Winchester Bancorp (NASDAQ:WSBK) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Carter Bankshares has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Winchester Bancorp has a beta of -0.38, suggesting that its share price is 138% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Carter Bankshares and Winchester Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Carter Bankshares	$254.63 million	2.68	$31.00 million	$5.81	5.30
Winchester Bancorp	$51.65 million	2.34	$4.42 million	$0.49	26.57

Carter Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Winchester Bancorp. Carter Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Winchester Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Carter Bankshares and Winchester Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Carter Bankshares	0	4	1	0	2.20
Winchester Bancorp	1	0	0	0	1.00

Carter Bankshares presently has a consensus price target of $30.75, suggesting a potential downside of 0.13%. Given Carter Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Carter Bankshares is more favorable than Winchester Bancorp.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

41.5% of Carter Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Carter Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.2% of Winchester Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Carter Bankshares and Winchester Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Carter Bankshares	36.79%	7.46%	0.73%
Winchester Bancorp	8.56%	3.72%	0.42%

Summary

Carter Bankshares beats Winchester Bancorp on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Carter Bankshares

Carter Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Carter Bank & Trust that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, retirement, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposits. The company also offers commercial loans comprising secured and unsecured loans; consumer loans, such as secured and unsecured loans for financing automobiles, home improvements, education, overdraft protection, and personal investments, as well as residential mortgages; real estate construction, acquisition, commercial, and industrial loans; home equity lines of credit; and credit cards, as well as originates and holds fixed and variable rate mortgage loans. In addition, it provides other banking services that include safe deposit boxes, direct deposit of payroll, and social security checks; online banking products, including online and mobile banking, online account opening, bill pay, e-statement, mobile deposit, digital wallet, and ATM services; title insurance and other financial institution-related products and services; and treasury and corporate cash management services. Carter Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Martinsville, Virginia.

About Winchester Bancorp

Winchester Bancorp, MHC will be formed as the Massachusetts-chartered mutual holding company of Winchester Bancorp, Inc. in connection with the reorganization of Winchester Savings Bank into the “two-tier”mutual holding company form of organization. Upon completion of the reorganization and offering, Winchester Bancorp, MHC will own 55% of Winchester Bancorp, Inc.’s common stock. As a mutual holding company, Winchester Bancorp, MHC will be a non-stock company that will be required by law to own a majority of the outstanding voting stock of Winchester Bancorp, Inc. for so long as Winchester Bancorp, MHC remains in existence. Winchester Bancorp, MHC, through its board of trustees, will be able to exercise voting control over virtually all matters put to a vote of stockholders of Winchester Bancorp, Inc. Winchester Bancorp, MHC will be subject to comprehensive regulation and examination by the Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Federal Reserve Board”). Winchester Bancorp, Inc. is a Maryland corporation that was incorporated in December 2024. The offering of common stock is being made by Winchester Bancorp, Inc. in connection with the reorganization of Winchester Savings Bank into the “two-tier” mutual holding company form of organization. Winchester Bancorp, Inc. will become the bank holding company for Winchester Savings Bank by owning all the outstanding shares of capital stock of Winchester Savings Bank. To date, Winchester Bancorp, Inc. has engaged in organizational activities only. Following the reorganization and offering, Winchester Bancorp, Inc.’s primary business activity will be to own all the outstanding shares of capital stock of Winchester Savings Bank. Winchester Bancorp, Inc. will be authorized to engage in any other business activities that are permissible for bank holding companies under Massachusetts and federal law. Upon completion of the reorganization and offering, Winchester Bancorp, MHC will own 55% and public stockholders will own 43% of Winchester Bancorp, Inc.’s common stock. Public stockholders will not be able to exercise voting control over most matters put to a vote of stockholders. In addition, as a “controlled company” under the meaning of the Nasdaq Stock Market corporate governance rules following the offering, Winchester Bancorp, Inc. will be exempt from certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirement that a majority of our board of directors be independent under Nasdaq Stock Market listing standards, and that executive compensation and director nominations be overseen by independent directors. Winchester Bancorp, Inc. will be subject to comprehensive regulation and examination by the Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks and the Federal Reserve Board. Winchester Bancorp, Inc.’s website address will be www.winchestersavings.com. Winchester Savings Bank is a Massachusetts-chartered savings bank headquartered in Winchester, Massachusetts. Winchester Savings Bank was originally chartered in 1871, and operates from its main office and four full-service branch offices in eastern Massachusetts, located in Arlington, Danvers and Woburn. Winchester Savings Bank’s subsidiaries are Sachem Holdings, Inc., Aberjona Holdings, Inc., 1871 Company, LLC, and Wedgemere Holdings, LLC. Sachem Holdings, Inc. and Aberjona Holdings, Inc. are Massachusetts security corporations established to hold investment securities. 1871 Company, LLC’s principal activity is the holding of bank premises. Wedgemere Holdings, LLC’s principal activity is the holding of properties acquired in settlement of loans. We consider Middlesex County and, to a lesser extent, Essex County, as our primary market area for gathering deposits. We consider Middlesex County as well as the surrounding counties located in Massachusetts as our primary market area for lending. Our business consists primarily of taking deposits from the general public and investing those deposits, together with funds generated from operations, in one- to four-family residential real estate loans, multi-family residential real estate loans, construction loans, commercial real estate loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, commercial business loans and consumer loans, as well as in investment securities. Winchester Savings Bank is subject to comprehensive regulation and examination by the Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”). Winchester Savings Bank’s main office is located in Winchester, Massachusetts.